The Butterfly Effect Page #7

EVAN:

Nice to meet you, too.

As she leaves, Thumper takes the black T-shirt by his wallet and throws it on Evan's bed.

THUMPER:

Here, bro. Found your T-shirt.

Evan nods thanks, picks up his journal. Reads something and smiles.

EVAN:

Get dressed, Thumper, you're taking me out for my birthday.

THUMPER:

I thought you were a December baby.

EVAN:

This is bigger. Seven years to the day. No blackouts.

Thumper pulls out a bong.

THUMPER:

Let's do this.

EXT. DIRTY HANK'S BAR - DAY

INT. DIRTY HANK'S BAR - CONTINUOUS

A popular watering hole. A dark rustic interior, blasting alternative rock. Plenty of underage students carry pitchers of beer to their tables.

Evan and Thumper play pool against two young women. HEIDI, beautiful, wears ripped jeans, no make up. She sinks the eleven ball off the rail. KRISTEN coolly smokes a cigarette, confident that she and Heidi will hold the table.

KRISTEN:

So...which one of you has a pet worm?

Thumper proudly steps forward.

THUMPER:

Worms, plural.

KRISTEN:

That's so gross.

Thumper steps back, points to Evan.

THUMPER:

Talk to him about it, he's got the fetish.

Heidi sinks another ball and looks up at Evan strangely.

EVAN:

Actually, they're for a psych project. A study on memory.

Heidi misses her short and passes the cue to Evan.

HEIDI:

(stifling a yawn)

Sh*t, better explain before all the excitement gives me a heart attack.

Evan speaks as he knocks the one-ball in the corner pocket. As he talks, at a table behind them, some obnoxious Greeks; including HUNTER, SPENCER, and GWEN make fun of Thumper.

EVAN:

It's an experiment with flatworms and a maze. You take a flatworm and run it through the maze until he's memorized it. Then you put a new flatworm in the maze. He's clueless. Banging into walls, getting lost, whatever.

THUMPER:

(thoughtfully)

Like Ozzy.

Gwen giggles as Spencer throws popcorn at Thumper's head.

SPENCER:

Ten bucks says he eats it off the floor.

Thumper seems oblivious to their taunts as Evan knocks the three-ball in the side.

EVAN:

You chop up the smart flatworm and feed it to the dumb one and presto, the dumb one suddenly knows the maze inside and out.

Evan walks past Heidi, putting his hand on her shoulder to squeeze by. The hand lingers longer than necessary and Heidi doesn't mind. He sinks another ball.

EVAN:

Just by absorbing the first worm into its cellular structure, it gets all of the worm's memories.

THUMPER:

(thoughtfully)

That's probably why Hannibal Lecter's so smart.

A handful of popcorn hits Thumper's face. They all try to ignore Hunter and Spencer's jeers.

HEIDI:

So what's the point?

EVAN:

(setting up the eight)

Maybe if I can figure out how the memories of a simple worm function, it'll help me understand the complexities of the human brain.

Another barrage of popcorn hits Thumper's jacket. Although his hand clenches on the cue. He meekly shuffles away to the opposite side of the pool table from the cackling geeks.

HEIDI:

(intrigued)

So are you planning on becoming a doctor or something?

Thumper casually takes the pool cue from Evan.

EVAN:

No, I just don't want to lose my mind.

As Heidi digests this, Thumper carefully lines up his shot...The eight ball.

CRASH!!! The cue ball intentionally jumps the table, rocketing into the pitcher of beer on the Greek's table. They're all soaked with beer and debris.

Just as they begin to rise, Thumper smashes the cue stick on the table, WHISTLING innocently (while now brandishing a spear). They sit the f*** down.

Kristin, impressed, casually wraps her arm around Thumper's waist. He smiles coolly, it's nothing.

EVAN:

(to Heidi)

I think that's your game.

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT

Evan and Heidi, making out, burst through the door and fall on the bed. Evan's shirt is unbuttoned and Heidi strokes his chest. Suddenly Heidi stops and sniffs the air.

HEIDI:

Smells like sex in here.

EVAN:

Thumper had a busy afternoon.

HEIDI:

You're kidding. He's so...big.

Evan drunkenly crosses the room, grabs two beers from the mini-fridge.

EVAN:

Charisma and eyeliner go a long way, I guess. Wanna beer?

Heidi takes one. Looks under the bed.

HEIDI:

Most guys tuck their porn under here, but all you have are... comp books.

EVAN:

Yeah. I've been keeping journals since I was seven.

HEIDI:

(respectfully)

Wow...read something.

Evan chugs his beer and sits next to her on the bed and puts his arm around her. Very drunk.

EVAN:

No way, I'd be too embarrassed.

Heidi teasingly runs her fingers over his smooth torso.

HEIDI:

Then keep drinking, worm-boy. You're too uptight.

Evan stops short.

EVAN:

Freeze! No "worm-boy". No "Mr. Worm," and no "Worm-Master-General!" Once you get a nickname like that you can't shake it. And I don't want everyone thinking I've got tapeworms coming out of my ass or something, okay?

HEIDI:

(laughing)

Deal. Now read me something.

Heidi hands him a book marked "AGE 13". He flips it open to a random place and takes the beer from her hand.

EVAN:

(re:
her beer)

For courage.

Evan takes and finishes her beer and begins reading. As he reads, he seems more and more on the verge of passing out.

EVAN:

It's like my mind refused to believe what it was seeing. Hearing Crockett make those awful screams... Just writing about it gives me the shivers.

Color drains from Evan's face as he realizes what he's reading. He looks over at Heidi, who kisses him.

HEIDI:

Come on, go on...

EVAN:

It was like Tommy was possessed or something. There was a hate in his eyes that I couldn't really call human.

As Evan reads, the world seems to ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLY VIBRATE around him LIKE A TUNING FORK. His voice becomes distant and SOUNDS ECHO around him like distant memories resurrecting themselves...

FLASH! SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. JUNKYARD - DAY - 1995

Evan is THIRTEEN again. The scene begins exactly where Evan's blackout occurred as a child. Tommy has just knocked Kayleigh unconscious with a wooden plank, Lenny is frozen at the sight of Crockett in the fluid-soaked gunny sack. And Evan, seething with rage, stands up with clenched fists and CHARGES Tommy at full speed.

Only now, Evan almost seems caught off-guard to suddenly find himself running at full speed. He stumbles and falls to his knees at Tommy's feet.

Evan looks around, utterly confused by his surroundings.

EVAN:

What the hell is going on?

Before an answer comes, Tommy smiles at his good fortune and swings the plank, hitting Evan's head. Evan is sent sprawling backwards, his forehead bleeding freely.

Tommy knocks Evan hard in the ribs with his boots. Evan writhes in agony, his face against the ground.

Lenny moves toward the gunny sack, lifts it and tugs desperately on the rope that traps Crockett inside.

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